This is a packet of activities about the novel,”Hoot”. Most of this work will be done on your own time for homework. You may work on this packet at your own pace but there will be deadlines for each individual activity. If you do not have the activity completed on the due date you will forfeit those points at that time. If the activity is done by the final due date of December 19th you will earn back half the points on that activity.

For example, the first activity is due on Tuesday, November 22nd and is worth 10 points. If it is done correctly by that date you will receive all 10 points. If it is not done then but is complete by the final due date of December 19th, then you will receive 5 of the points.

All points will be added up at the end of the novel and will count as a project grade. If you do all activities on time this is an easy 100% for you!.

Please show this packet to your parents and have them sign below by Tuesday, November 11th and you will get your first 5 points!

Parents signature:______

Hoot

Chapter Questions/Activities

1. Analysis of Cover Design (10 points)( due Tuesday, 11/22)

The focal point; what catches your attention when you first look at the visual? How does the designer do this?

Describe the visual. What information does it communicate about the novel? (Consider the use of color, line, shape, and form)

What information do you learn from written text on the novel’s cover? (front and back)

List three questions that come to mind when after you’ve read the back cover “blurb”.

If you were to change the cover in any way to make it more effective, what would you do?

Chapters 1-7 Due Monday, November 28th(assignments, 2, 3 and 4)

2. What type of narration is being used in the story? Whose point of view is being used? Why do you think the author chose this? (5 points)

  1. Mother Paula’s construction site is the setting for a great deal of conflict. Discuss some of the strange incidents that are happening on site (there are three so far). Who do you think is causing all the problems and why? (5 points)
  1. Figurative language (simile, metaphor, personification) is used frequently in the novel Hootas the author, Hiaasen, paints vivid pictures for his readers to enjoy. Find 5 examples of figures of speech from chapters 1-7, and record them in the chart below. An example is provided for you. (15 points)

Example Type of figurative Comparison Effectiveness

Language Item 1 Item 2

The soles of his bare feet looked as black as barbecue coals. / simile / Color of dirty feet / Black
color of
coals / Through this image, the reader can picture how grimy and dirty the boy’s feet are.

Assignments on chapters 8-12-due December 5th(assignments 5, 6, 7 and 8)

5. Number the events in order that they occur in the novel ( 5 points):

Beatrice strips Dana to his undies and ties him to the school flagpole

Mullet Fingers gets bitten by Rottweilers

Mullet shows Roy the Molly Bell and catches a mullet fish in his bare hands

Dana traps Roy in the broom closet and chokes him

Mullet Fingers escapes from the hospital

Journal Entry

6. In the novel Hoot, Roy’s mother says, “Sometimes you’re going to be faced with situations where the line isn’t clear between what’s right and what’s wrong.”

In a well-developed journal entry of 10-12 sentences, tell about a time when you were torn between right and wrong. Be sure to explain the following (10 points):

  • Describe the circumstances surrounding the experience
  • Explain how you felt about the decision
  • What did you learn from the experience?

7. Media Awareness Activity

“Although the make-up artists had done a darn good job, Curly could still tell that the old lady in the commercials was actually a much younger woman, and that she was pretty.”

Often the media relies on certain stereotypes (a fixed idea that people have about what someone or something is like) in order to create a certain image for its audience. In the case of Mother Paula’s, for instance, Kimberley Lou Dixon is made up to look like a sweet, little old lady who is in the kitchen looking after her family. She is nurturing and caring-a far more appealing image than the giant corporation that is, in reality, the true face of Mother Paula’s All-American Pancake House.

Watch TV for several evenings, and take note of the stereotypes that are portrayed in the ads. Fill-in the chart provided below (10 points).

Commercial / Stereotype portrayed / How is it effective?
ex: Covergirl mascara commercial using professional models to advertise their product / A very narrow version of females-beautiful, thin and young / On seeing how beautiful the women in the ads are, females are lured into believing that, if they use this product, they will be beautiful too.

8. Hoot Crossword (10 points)

Across

6. Mother Paula’s icon

7. “Delinko is not the sharpest knife in the drawer” (literary term)

10. Escapee from hospital

11. Roy’s rescuer

12. Former pro basket ball player

15. the construction site on East Oriole (literary term)

16. Where Dana tries to strangle Roy after school

17. show their sparkly personalities

18. Beatrice's evil step mom

Down

1. Athene cunicularia

2. “for a science experiment”

3. Dana’s favorite nickname for Roy

4. Dana wants to beat Roy to a pulp (literary term)

5. Mullet Fingers ends up with an infection from this

7. An abandoned crab boat

8. “Sometimes the line isn’t clear between right and wrong (literary term)

9. Mother Paula’s P.R. guy

13. Mullet is trying to save these.

14. Dog trainer

Part 3 Chapters 15-21-due on December 14th-(assignments 9, and 10)

9. Sequencing (5 points)

Put the following events in the order in which they occur in the novel.

____ Dana is arrested

____ Officer Delinko meets Kimberly Lou Dixon

____ Roy and Dana fight

____ Roy watches Beatrice play a soccer game

____ Roy discovers the seats are missing from the bulldozer

10. Representing (10 points)

Create a one page advertisement to announce the opening of the Mother Paula’s Pancake house in Coconut Cove

  • Make sure that your ad has a catchy slogan
  • It must include an eye catching colorful visual
  • Be sure to include important details such as grand opening date, special guests, prize giveaways and any other important information for the big day

OR

Create a one page Advertisement designed to make people aware of the Environmental Impact of constructing a Mother Paula’s Pancake House on the site of a Species of Special Concern ( the burrowing, mating owls )

  • Make sure your ad has an attention grabbing headline
  • An appropriate colorful visual must be used
  • State any factual information to support your cause

Style Paragraph on Theme-due December 19th

11. Discuss one of the themes of the novel Hoot by Carl Hiaasen. Be sure to support your response with at least three examples (15 points).

Format for paragraph – style answer on theme:

Frame for Theme

The theme of a piece of literature is the main message that the author is trying to send. In the novel written by , the theme is .First of all, when , this supports the author’s message because . Secondly, the theme is revealed when

Again, the message is clear:

The final example occurs when . This also supports the main idea being because . In fact , the idea that the writer is trying to share here is similar to because

In conclusion, therefore, Hiaasen is showing us that